The Fayum portraits are the link between Ancient Greek portrait painting and Early Christian art. Many of these beautiful and expressive paintings were displayed at the exhibition From the Fayum Portraits to the Beginnings of Byzantine Icon Painting, held in Heraklion, Crete in May-June 1998 and accompanied by a symposium. Three updated papers from the symposium are presented here, together with two texts first published in Greek in the exhibition catalogue. The book is fully illustrated with portraits and icons.